Category Archives: Music

Going to the Linkin Park concert felt like closure. The band is like an old boyfriend who I regret leaving. He has changed, not for the worse, not for the better, but in a way that I am capable of understanding but don’t really want to understand, so I’ve been holding on, hoping that maybe some day I’ll turn around, that some day I’ll see, or that maybe one day everything will all be explained to me, like in some cheesy movie.

I don’t feel changed after the concert, not changed in the way that is dramatic and life-altering. The concert was one last connection. If anything, everything remained the same after the concert, that LP had changed and that I had changed; we’d both grown in different directions, but after the concert it just felt more okay than before.

Hearing them play live, seeing them in person right in front of me was like a metaphor for change. They are still the same band, with the same members, playing the same instruments, and despite all their new songs, the old ones are still with them, marking the path that they had taken, the path that I followed them down for a certain time, and no matter how many new albums they release, those songs will still be there, and Chester will still rip the stadium apart with his heart-stopping screams.

If you think about it in terms of a person, how much can someone really change? I don’t listen much to rock now, I’m investing my time in completely different genres, but when it comes down to it, I still love those old songs. There is a park of me that is still the same person that I had been before, the part that played a Linkin Park album on repeat for hours on end, first listening to the song, then to each individual instrument, breaking the song down, and that won’t ever change, no matter how many new tastes I acquire.

And as a final memento, I picked up a souvenir at the concert that was quite unexpected, like a small, personal, parting gift.

Overall I think I handled that break-up pretty well, don’t you? 😉

In all seriousness I still fully support Linkin Park, just not in the way that I used to. And I still can’t believed they opened with Faint.

I went to the YTF concert last night at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. The venue was really nice, bright, clean, new, but that’s not what you’re interested in now, is it?

If you’re slightly out of the loop with this whole YTF business, here’s a brief intro:

From left to right: Victor King (Kim), Andrew Garcia, D-Trix (Dominic Sandoval), Kevjumba (Kevin Wu), Chester See, JR Aquino, and Ryan Higa (a.k.a. Nigahiga). Many of them have been on TV shows such as American Idol, America’s Best Dance Crew, So You Think You Can Dance and The Amazing Race (I think I just named all of them …). YTF stands for Yesterday, Today, Forever (not Youtube Friends or Yellow Toed Frogs). For more information: Click me!

I went into the concert with little to no expectations. I knew that it would be a fun time, because YTF consists of such adorable, wonderful people, but I wasn’t sure how a concert with a group of such multi-talented people would work. I was lucky enough to have had friends that were willing to come along with me, being the only one I knew who really liked YTF, although at the same time I was worried that they might be disappointed. It was like showing friends a funny Youtube video, except this was more stressful because it was live and I couldn’t pause it and explain the jokes (which actually makes it worse … except I feel better …).

At events like this, there is always a group of people who I am extremely jealous of because they came dressed up in something extremely clever that I SHOULD’VE thought of, except I didn’t. Three people sitting smack-dab in the centre of the theatre were dressed up in BEST Crew gear, which was far sexier than showing too much skin. Unfortunately, the lighting was not very flattering for those fans (non-existent, in fact) and there’s a chance Rave couldn’t see them at all, which is too bad, because they deserved Platinum VIP passes just for that idea.

And speaking of BEST Crew, half of them were absent. That was the bad news: Kevin couldn’t make it to the first concert of YTF’s tour!! There was supposed to have been good news to follow that piece of bad news, except I wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe I was just too shocked that Kevin would be missing. Rave looked so lonely without Pong, even though Rave likes to pretend he doesn’t need Pong.

EDIT: It seems that Kevin was absent in San Jose as well, possibly because he’s sick D: hope he feels better soon!

The show started off fashionably late (I guess) with a dance-off between three Vancouver based crews, all of whom were very brave, and the last crew (DTS, was it?), being exceptionally talented won the dance-off.

I have to admit it was a weird feeling sitting in my seat seeing Ryan Higa walking on stage, so normal, so human, live, in 3D, breathing the same air as me, after only being able to see him through my computer screen for so long, and the same feeling followed with every member that came on to do their own little segments after.

He was surprised that his fans liked this song so much, but in all honesty you can’t not love this song if you listen to the lyrics.

And finally, to wrap up the show, how can there not be a Nice Guys performance?? The only sad thing about it was that Ryan had to rap Kevin’s part because Kevin wasn’t there. Sad face.

Almost 33 million views!

Yeah so halfway through my post I decided to sort of recreate the experience for anyone who managed to stumble across this post that didn’t get a chance to go to the YTF concert in Vancouver last night. I used mostly the original Youtube versions of every song because the fan videos that are out right now are really horrible quality, but they’re out there on Youtube, tagged with YTF, Vancouver etc. etc. if you want to check them out too. I didn’t record anything myself because I find holding up camera dilutes my concert going experience a lot, and I try to commit everything to memory, even though its really poor. Fortunately I dragged my lazy ass to the computer when the songs were still fresh in my mind so I could remember all of them for you!

YTF was a source of inspiration before this concert, even though my area of interest is not so much in the performing arts. Their message is basically this: if you want to do something, you have the option to do it, and if you set your mind to it, you can become great. Dominic said at the end of the show, “If you have haters, then you’re doing something right” (or something to that effect). After the show I felt even more inspired to be able to see them live, because in the end you realize that they are people just like us. Even geniuses have to work hard to become someone.

Everyone in YTF was very natural and interacted with the crowd with great ease. It was definitely an honour to have been able to see them live, and even my friends who weren’t too familiar with them before the concert had a good time.

On top of that, it’s a beautiful day in Vancouver, with no clouds in the sky!

Falling in love. I guess that’s what it feels like, not that I know what love really is, or what falling in love feels like, but if I had to say, this is pretty much it.

Andrew Bayer is a magician of sorts, and he seems to have direct access to my musical tastes. Even his remixes get to me (i.e. Alquimia). I’ve always been a support of music as a religion, music as a replacement for love, music as inspiration, but without tasting the sweetness of these melodies, I spoke in ignorance. I believe I was right, but it was for the wrong reasons. His music affects me in a way that’s different from the music of most trance artists. There’s a deeper connection that I feel with a limited number of songs from Anjunabeats and Armada etc. etc. (so sue me for listening to the more “mainstream” trance labels …), a few from Mat Zo, Matt Lange and Arnej, but this connection is more consistent with Andrew Bayer’s tracks.

And this new track, You, featured in the upcoming Anjunadeep 04, just killed me as soon as I heard it. There’s nothing too extravagant about Andrew’s songs, which is what I love. There are so many subtleties in all of his tracks that give them so much more depth and character, they are so moving, so intense without being in your face with what the song sounds like, if that makes any sense.

On the same subject, Anjunadeep has always been amazing. It has an addictive, unique sound that is exactly what it advertises: deep.

This has been a brief but not too brief expression of my love of Andrew Bayer’s music (and Anjunadeep, by extension). It just feels wrong to have such strong emotions inside of me and not express them (which is why it’s probably a good thing I’m in Arts and not Sciences). Music is very subjective, and by expressing my taste I do not mean to impose an opinion of Andrew Bayer’s music upon anyone or that he should be greater than any other producer because I think so, only that I am grateful that I have found something that I love so much.

I guess these kinds of posts are more selfish than they appear (aside from promoting Andrew Bayer and Anjunadeep) but I hope to anyone reading this that they also have something in their lives that makes them feel so in love.